Chicago drops out of World Cup bid, criticizes FIFA

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago, the home of the U.S. Soccer Federation, has dropped out of the North American bid for the 2026 World Cup.

Organizers were to announce their list of bidding cities Thursday. Chicago was the site of the 1994 World Cup opener but declined to be part of the U.S. bid for the 2022 World Cup, which lost to Qatar in a 2010 vote.

Matthew McGrath, a spokesman for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, says in a statement: "FIFA could not provide a basic level of certainty on some major unknowns that put our city and taxpayers at risk. The uncertainty for taxpayers, coupled with FIFA's inflexibility and unwillingness to negotiate, were clear indications that further pursuit of the bid wasn't in Chicago's best interests."

FIFA insists that contracts with host cities contain a provision they be governed under Swiss law and give FIFA the ability to modify agreements at any time.